


you promised

by Kiri_Kaitou_Clover



Series: Aster tataricus [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, KH 3 speculation, Pain, but also a glimmer of hope?, much more than before, there's a story forming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 10:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15970235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover/pseuds/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover
Summary: Hey Axel.It's... been a while, hasn't it....Do you still remember the promise you made to me?





	you promised

They were all panicking. Donald and Goofy had lost sight of Sora during a revisit to Xehanort’s former labs in Radiant Garden and had vanished for the entire day. They had guessed that Sora probably got distracted by something and had waited for him to return with the Restoration Committee. But when two more days passed without a sight or word from Sora, the pair had hurried back to the Mysterious Tower in a frenzy and everyone had been called in for a realm wide search.

Lea and Kairi had volunteered themselves to search Twilight Town, the former having been stationed there quite frequently during his stint as an Organisation member, the latter having made friends with the locals and was thus familiar with them.

Kairi gazed out the train window worriedly as she asked, “What do you think happened, Axel? Sora doesn’t normally run off without telling anyone.”

Lea doesn’t reply, but the worry in his own eyes answers her question anyways.

Stepping off the train, the both made their way out to the station entrance.

“Been a while since we’ve been here hasn’t it,” Lea muttered, Kairi nodding as she fell in step with him, their eyes focused on the sunset that gave the town its name.

As the both of them made their way down the steps, a melancholic sigh came from behind them, and Lea froze as he felt the cold touch of a keyblade’s teeth on his neck.

“At this very clock tower. Do you remember? Why the sun sets red?”

Lea’s eyes widened in shock and confusion.

“Axel, what are you doing?! Move!” Kairi yelled at him having summoned Destiny’s Embrace and knocked the blade away from his throat.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Lea spun around and summoned his Keyblade, the hooded figure parrying both blades as they started attacking them.

The hooded figure flinched at the sight of the flames that made up Lea’s Keyblade and  muttered, “So... even you got your own in the end. I guess its only mine that continues to remain a copy.”

Lea frowned, “Who are you. Only Roxas should know what I said up on the clock tower.”

The cloaked figure chuckled, “How ironic. Wasn’t it you who always asked us to memorise your name, Axel?”

With that they lowered their hood, and both Lea and Kairi stared in choked horror.

Poisonous gold eyes glinted in amusement while silver hair framed an all too familiar face. But try as he might, Lea couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.

The girl, seeing the lack of actual recognition on his face, sighed, “I expected too much. Roxas remembering me was already miraculous enough, but I guess you didn’t have the decency to memorise my name. Either that, or you _didn’t care_ enough about me to do so.”

Kairi on the other hand had almost let go of her Keyblade when the girl dropped her hood. Those features, marred and tainted by Xehanort’s possession of them... they were features she had seen all too frequently in the mirror, as well as in Sora’s own face. Who was she?

“Oh well. I guess I’ll try a different tactic then,” the girl hummed as she opened a Corridor of Darkness above her... and the sleeping body of Roxas emerged from it and was dropped into her arms.

“ _Roxas?!_ ” Lea stared in horror. Kairi on the other hand glanced at the ‘Keyblade’ that had been stabbed next to the girl and flinched, “No. No no no no NO! What did you do to Sora?!”

“I just took my best friend back. At least he remembered me,” the girl hummed as she gently set the sleeping Roxas on one of the pillars. “At least he _tried_ to keep his promises to me.”

Lea flinched at the words he knew were directed at him and winced as his head began to ache. Then. The dam broke. Static filled memories began clearing up one by one, awkward gaps between him and Roxas suddenly being filled by a laughing black haired, blue eyed girl.

Lea let out a choked sob and a name finally came to him, ‘ _Xion. It’s Xion. I forgot. How could I have forgotten about her? About out promises to each other? I failed her. What sort of friend am I?! What have I done?!_ ’

Kairi started as Lea suddenly let go of his Keyblade and stumbled forward towards the girl muttering apologies, “Xion. _Xion_. You are Xion. I’m sorry. _I’m sorry_.”

“Axel what are you doing?!” Kairi yelled as she dashed forward to pull him back. Only for him to shake off her grip and continue forward. “Snap out of it!”

Xion looked at him, golden eyes devoid of emotion as he stumbled towards her, “So you finally remember. But those were _empty words_. Like the _empty promises_ you made to me.”

Instead, she picked up her ‘Keyblade’ and brought it down to strike Lea... and it was met by Lea’s own Keyblade.

“What?!” Xion yelped as she jumped back in shock... staring into Lea’s eyes, suddenly blazing with resolve.

“I’m sorry I failed to keep our promise,” Lea said, his voice steady as he moved himself into a fighting stance. “But I guess better late than never. I won’t go back on my word Xion. I promised I would bring you back, and that’s what I’ll do.”

Xion narrowed her eyes... then dismissed the blade with a sigh, “Oh well. That plan failed.”

“Wha...?” Lea faltered.

“He was hoping you would fall to despair easily. It’s why he brought me back,” Xion hummed as she made her way to Roxas. “But I guess I’m just a puppet who can only fulfil tasks concerning her Original.”

Picking Roxas up in her arms, she opened up the Corridor of Darkness. Lea snapped out of his surprise and ran after her, but at that point the portal was closing.

“Xion!” Lea cried out to her. Xion gave Lea a wiry smile in response, “Come find us if you want them back. Roxas... or was it Sora? Find us and you may see them again. So good day, Axel. Kairi.”

With that, the Darkness swallowed them both, leaving Lea and Kairi to stare at the place they pair had vanished from.

“Axel... Who was that?” Kairi asked shakily.

With a shuttering breath, Lea answered, “That? That was Xion. The third person in our _trio_ of friends. Me, Roxas, Xion.”

“That doesn’t explain why she looked so familiar.”

Lea hesitated, but knew it was better to explain it now than later. “Xion is... replica of Sora, whose form was based off Sora’s memories of _you_.”

Kairi felt herself drop to her knees. That. That explained too much. Why she saw her younger self in the girl, why she saw a bit of Sora’s features in her.

“What are we going to do?” Kairi asked, eyes focused on the eternal sunset that blaze in the horizon.

“What do you think?” Lea said, a grim smile on his face. “We’re going to have to bring them back. All of them.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...
> 
> It's a continuation. What do you expect?
> 
> Also - Merlin. I hate and love you for inspiring me BUT THERE ARE LIMITS TO THE AMOUNT OF ANGST I CAN WRITE IN A FEW DAYS.
> 
> So I did NOT write the supposed fight scene you probably was expecting.


End file.
